The Vietnam War
The U.S. decided to stop
communism in Southeast Asia
A Pre-War Time Line
Vietnam was under Chinese rule for 1100
years
In the 1500s the French took over
Southeast Asia
Sent their navy to protect them, but they never
left
Hoped to civilize Vietnam
Created plantations and tenant farms
Controlled the masses with opium and alcohol
A Pre-War Time Line
Ho Chi Minh (communist)
Formed the Vietminh to help fight Japanese
occupation in WWII
Vietminh supported by the U.S.
BUT, U.S. supported French occupation after
the war
French Indochina War
France and the Vietminh fight for control of
Vietnam
A Pre-War Time Line
 At the Battle of Dienbienphu France loses the
war.
 The Geneva Accords split Vietnam on the 17th
parallel
The North is governed by Ho Chi Minh – Chinese
backed communist
The South is governed by Ngo Dinh Diem – U.S. backed
dictator
 Planned 1956 nation-wide election
Ho Chi Minh
 Vietnamese
revolutionary
 Wanted independence
for Vietnam
 Communist
 In exile for over ten
years before WWII
 Formed the Vietminh to
fight for Vietnamese
independence
Ngo Dinh Diem
 Western educated
 Catholic - restricted
Buddhist practices
 Dictator of South
Vietnam
 Strong anti-
Communist
So many differences…
 List the differences
between Ho Chi Minh
and Ngo Dinh Diem.
 Do they have any
similarities?
The U.S. Intervenes
In a nation-wide election Ho Chi Minh
would have won…
He was extremely popular because of his land
reform in the North
The U.S. believed that if Ho was elected it
would cause the rest of South East Asia to
become communist
The Domino Theory
Vietcong
By 1957, an opposition group to Diem
developed.
The Vietcong were communists and began
attacks against Diem’s government
By 1959, Ho began to supply the Vietcong,
the National Liberation Front (NLF), with
arms through the Ho Chi Minh Trail
Conflicting Interests in Vietnam
Vietminh and Vietcong Wanted freedom from foreign interference in Vietnam
Wanted all of Vietnam to be Communist
United States Afraid of Communist takeover of South Vietnam
Supported Diem as best hope for keeping South
Vietnam non-Communist
Willing to intervene militarily, but did not want to
involve China
Ngo Dinh Diem Dictator, not democratic
Used American aid to maintain personal power
Buddhists Persecuted by Diem’s government
Protested persecution
Rebel Generals Wanted to get rid of Diem
Wanted power for themselves
Diem is overthrown…
Between 1955-1961 the US gave more
than $1 billion to Diem for military aid
US tired of Diem using that to maintain
power instead of fighting the Vietcong
Communists and non-Communists in
South Vietnam began to protest the Diem
government.
US staged a military coup - Diem killed.
Vietcong
 By 1964 the Vietcong
controlled over half of
South Vietnam
 Used tunnels all over
the south to hide,
plan, live.
 Booby traps and
small entrances kept
American soldiers
from infiltrating the
tunnel system
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
 August 2, 1964 the
U.S.S. Maddox
experienced apparent
hostility from North
Vietnamese gun
boats in international
waters.
 A second interaction
followed two nights
later…
 Congress, given intel
from the DOD,
created the GOTR
Power to Johnson
 The Gulf of Tonkin
Resolution gave the
president the power
to wage a war against
communism in South
Vietnam.
 Technically, it was not
a declaration of war,
but it gave the
president the same
powers as he would
have in war.
Operation Rolling Thunder
 LBJ orders extensive
bombing on North
Vietnam and Laos
 North Vietnamese still
persisted - supplying
the Vietcong
 In 1965 LBJ ordered
more troops to
Vietnam
 1969 - U.S. troops in
Vietnam peaked at
543,400
South Vietnamese Reaction
 Ho continued to
supply the Vietcong
with arms.
 Johnson tried to make
this an
“Americanized” war
 With each bomb
dropped on a village
more South
Vietnamese began to
support the Vietcong
Tet Offensive
 1968
 Vietcong and NVA
attacked 100 different
cities and villages at
the same time.
 Proved that the
“enemy” was
organized
 Not the rag-tag force
we thought we were
fighting
Vietnamization
 After Johnson asks
Hanoi to begin
negotiations
 Nixon suggests the
policy of
“Vietnamization”
 Replacing U.S. troops
with Vietnamese
troops
Bombing of Cambodia
 Nixon says we are
going to get the
Vietnamese to fight
their own war
 Then America finds
out that he is
escalating the war by
bombing Cambodia
 Trying to stop
supplies from North
Vietnam
Cease Fire
January of 1973 U.S. and North Vietnam
sign a cease fire agreement
The U.S. promises to withdraw within 60
days
Vietnam plunged into full scale civil war
April 29, 1975 Saigon falls to the northern
communists
Eventually, Cambodia and Laos become
communist too.
Vietnam Chronology…
1954
Defeat of French by Vietminh
at Dienbienphu
Geneva Conference splits
Vietnam into North and South
at the 17th Parallel
Vietnam Chronology…
1957
Formation of the NLF
(Vietcong) in South Vietnam
Vietnam Chronology…
1964
Tonkin Gulf Resolution by
Congress in response to the
North Vietnamese “attack”
Vietnam Chronology…
1965
First ground troops arrive in
South Vietnam
Vietnam Chronology…
1967
Antiwar protests in the U.S.
intensify.
Vietnam Chronology…
1968
Tet Offensive launched by
Vietcong with support from
North Vietnam
What else happened in 1968?
Vietnam Chronology…
1969
U.S. troops be withdrawn from
Vietnam - Vietnamization
Vietnam Chronology…
1970
-Kent State tragedy
-Nixon decides to bomb
Cambodia
Vietnam Chronology…
1973
U.S. and North Vietnam and
Vietcong sign a cease fire,
ending American involvement
in Vietnam War
Vietnam Chronology…
1975
Saigon falls;
South Vietnam surrenders to
the communists of the North
Cause and Effect: The War in Vietnam